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BC Court of Appeal Confirms that the Duty of Honest Performance Does Not Extend to Pre-Contractual Dishonesty

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In Ocean Pacific Hotels Ltd. v Lee, 2025 BCCA 57, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia confirmed that the duty of honest performance in contract does not extend to pre-contractual negotiations....more

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Federal Government Proposes Changes to 30 Percent Rule to Spur Pension Investment Within Canada

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Canada’s federal government announced it intends to remove the “30 percent rule” for investments by domestic pension funds in Canadian entities. The change is part of the Fall Economic Statement that was released on December...more

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New Regulations Regarding the Hiring Process: Key Dates and Information for Ontario Employers

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Ontario has recently published regulations offering employers further details on the new amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) related to the hiring process....more

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Legal Precedent on Restrictive Covenants in Employment Agreements—A Case Study

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Employee restrictive covenants are often a contentious issue, especially when employees leave to form (or join) competing firms. A recent Alberta Court of King’s Bench decision, People Corporation v Quinn et al. (2024 ABKB...more

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Yule Be Sorry: Avoiding Pitfalls of Employer Liability at Holiday Events

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As the festive season begins and employers prepare for holiday social events, they should be digging out their workplace policies and checking them twice. No matter how well-intended, social events that are hosted or planned...more

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Working for Workers Six Act, 2024: More Changes on the Horizon for Ontario’s Employment-Related Legislation

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On November 27, 2024, the Ontario government introduced Bill 229, Working for Workers Six Act, 2024 (Bill 229). This announcement comes just one-month after Ontario’s Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 (Bill 190) received...more

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More Legislative Changes for Ontario Employers as Ontario’s Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 Receives Royal Assent

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On October 28, 2024, Ontario's Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 (Bill 190) received Royal Assent. As Ontario’s fifth and most recent legislative initiative introduced under the “Working for Workers” headline, Bill 190 makes...more

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Six Ways An Organization Can Benefit from an Internal Generative AI Use Policy

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Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools can be incredibly beneficial for businesses, enhancing productivity by streamlining administrative tasks, reducing redundancy, automating processes and improving data analysis....more

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Bill 149 Receives Royal Assent—New and Upcoming Legislative Changes for Ontario Employers

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On March 21, 2024 Bill 149, Working for Workers Four Act, 2023 (Bill 149) received Royal Assent. As discussed in our initial blog, More Legislative Changes on the Horizon for Ontario Employers, late last year when the...more

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Ontario Introduces Amendments to Support a Permanent Framework for Target Benefit Pension Plans

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On March 26, 2024, the Ontario government published their 2024 Budget, in which it was announced that draft regulations to Ontario’s Pension Benefits Act (PBA) would be introduced for review in the summer of 2024, with the...more

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Fundamental Breach or Reasonable Balance? Alberta Court Affirms Employer’s Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy

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In the case of Van Hee v Glenmore Inn Holdings Ltd., 2023 ABCJ 244 (Van Hee), Justice L.L. Burt of the Alberta Court of Justice (the Court) held that an employer was justified in unilaterally placing an employee on an unpaid...more

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Incentivizing Employees: Avoiding a Salary Deferral Arrangement

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Incentivizing employees is a critical component of most business strategies. Employers may implement arrangements for deferred cash bonuses, often subject to the satisfaction of certain criteria. From a tax perspective, the...more

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More Legislative Changes on the Horizon for Ontario Employers

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On November 14, 2023, the Ontario government tabled Bill 149, Working for Workers Four Act, 2023 (Bill 149) which, as of the date of this blog, has been referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy. If implemented as...more

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Changes to Ontario's Employment-Related Legislation Have Arrived

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As you may have heard or read in our earlier blog, More Changes to Ontario's Employment-Related Legislation Are on the Horizon, the Ontario government introduced Bill 79, Working for Workers Act, 2023 in late March 2023. On...more

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Soft Opening of Pay Transparency in British Columbia

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In the same year that Claudia Goldin's research on women's progress in the workforce earned a Nobel Prize, British Columbia introduces pay transparency legislation....more

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General Minimum Wage in Ontario will Rise to $ 16.55 per Hour on October 1, 2023

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On October 1, 2023, the general minimum wage rate that applies to most provincially-regulated employees in Ontario will increase from $15.50 to $16.55 per hour....more

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Employers Beware: Amendments to the Canadian Competition Act’s Criminal Conspiracy Provisions Take Effect

Amendments to the Canadian Competition Act (Act), taking effect on June 23, 2023, will make it a criminal offence for unaffiliated employers to agree, conspire or arrange to: •“fix, maintain, decrease or control salaries,...more

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Wage-Fixing and No-Poaching Agreements Illegal on June 23, 2023

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Competition Bureau Publishes Related Enforcement Guidelines Canada's new criminal prohibition on wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements will come into force on June 23, 2023. These new provisions under subsection 45(1.1) of...more

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Application of Statutory Bar to Workplace Bullying and Harassment Claims

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Canadian workers' compensation regimes are defined by the "historic tradeoff"—workers gain immediate and consistent benefits coverage under mandatory, no-fault statutory insurance schemes funded by employers and, in exchange,...more

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Ontario Initiates Consultation on Permanent Framework for Target Benefit Pension Plans

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As promised in the 2022 Budget, the Ontario Ministry of Finance has launched consultations on proposed regulations for Ontario’s Pension Benefits Act (PBA) to implement a permanent target benefit framework for pension plans...more

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Alberta Court Confirms Exclusive Jurisdiction of Labour Arbitrator Over Mandatory Vaccination Policy

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The Court of King's Bench of Alberta recently applied the long-standing principle that labour arbitrators have exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate disputes arising under a collective agreement, even in the context of an...more

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Competition Bureau Seeks Feedback on Enforcement Guidance for Wage-Fixing and No-Poaching Agreements

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Last year, the Competition Act was amended to make it a criminal offense for two or more unrelated employers to enter into wage-fixing or no-poaching agreements. As we discussed last summer, these new provisions come into...more

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Ontario Provides Details on Workplace Naloxone Kit Requirements

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On December 12, 2022, the Ontario Legislature published Regulation 559/22: Naloxone Kits (Regulation) providing further details on the naloxone kit requirements introduced as part of the Working for Workers Act, 2022, (Bill...more

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'Tis the Reason: ABCA Considers Expanding Gatekeeping Role of Courts in Certification of Workplace Class

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Workplace class proceedings are on the rise in Canada. Recent class actions have involved employee claims for overtime, vacation time, damages for COVID-19 pandemic terminations, extended healthcare benefits,...more

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Demise of the Restricted Covenant?

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Recent amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (Ontario) and the Competition Act (Canada) may be sounding the death knell for certain restricted covenants in Ontario—both non-competition covenants given by employees,...more

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